All the GRAMMY winners news, including iTune's list of the best-selling music of 2013

GRAMMYs

Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

GRAMMY.com

(The GRAMMY Insider keeps you up to date about news on your favorite GRAMMY winners, including information about new album releases, tour updates, notable media appearances, interviews, and more.)

ListsCurrent GRAMMY nomineeJustin Timberlake reigned supreme on iTunes' best-sellers of 2013 list, earning Artist of the Year and the top-selling album honor with The 20/20 Experience. Current GRAMMY nominees Kendrick Lamar, Lorde and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis also made this list for Breakthrough Album (Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City), Song of the Year ("Royals") and Album of the Year (The Heist), respectively. For more lists, visit GRAMMY.com's List Blog.

Rock HallGRAMMY winners Peter Gabriel, Nirvana and Linda Ronstadt, GRAMMY nominees Hall And Oates and Kiss, and Cat Stevens are the performer inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2014. Additional inductees are former Beatles manager Brian Epstein and producer/manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award, and the E Street Band, who will be recognized with the Award for Musical Excellence.

New YorkBeastie Boys fans are fighting for their right to sabotage the corner of Ludlow Street and Rivington Street in New York. According to a report, a petition has been launched to honor the Beastie Boys by naming the intersection where the cover of the GRAMMY-winning trio's 1989 album Paul's Boutique was shot, "Beastie Boys Square." In this case, there will be no sleep till the Lower East Side.

New MusicCurrent GRAMMY nominee Pharrell Williams is scheduled to release his first solo album in eight years in 2014. The set will reportedly feature the track "Happy" from Despicable Me 2, for which Williams created the first-ever 24-hour-long music video.

BeyoncéCurrent GRAMMY nominee Beyoncé has re-established herself as Queen Bey after surprising fans with a new self-titled album on Dec. 13. The 14-track album, which includes 17 new music videos, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, giving Beyoncé the distinction of being the first female artist to hit No. 1 with her first five studio albums. After only three days on sale, Beyoncé became the 24th bestselling album of the year, and the fastest-selling global album ever in the history of the iTunes Store, selling more than 800,000 units in its first three days. Who runs the world? Beyoncé.

OscarsBillboard has revealed a list of 75 songs that are eligible to be nominated for Original Song at the 86th Annual Academy Awards. GRAMMY winners appearing on the list include Fergie ("A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got) from The Great Gatsby); Jay Z ("100$ Bill" from The Great Gatsby); Coldplay ("Atlas" from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire); Taylor Swift ("Sweeter Than Fiction" from One Chance); U2 ("Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom); Pharrell Williams ("Happy" from Despicable Me 2); and Paul McCartney, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic ("Cut Me Some Slack" from Sound City).Nominations will be announced on Jan. 16, 2014.

News

The 56th GRAMMY Awards: The Guessing Game (Part 2)

(Editor's Note: The winners for the 56th GRAMMY Awards are not known until they are announced during the Pre-Telecast and GRAMMY telecast on Sunday, Jan. 26. The following blog offers predictions that do not reflect the opinions of The Recording Academy, GRAMMY.com or Recording Academy voting members. The Academy's voting members, all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, participate in the nominating process that determines the finalists in each GRAMMY category; and the final voting process that determines the GRAMMY winners. For more information on the GRAMMY Awards process, visit GRAMMY.org.)

The pundits are pontificating, the more than 12,000 Recording Academy voters have cast their ballots, and the 56th GRAMMY Awards, airing on CBS Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, is just around the corner, so what better time to survey this year's GRAMMY field and offer a few observations?

As I pointed out in my first blog, in which I peered into the crystal ball for the nominations, the following are my personal educated guesses in the General Field and select GRAMMY categories from my perspective as a longtime professional observer.

Record Of The YearCertainly no one can quibble with this year's nominees. There's consensus that Daft Punk & Pharrell Williams' "Get Lucky," Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive," Lorde's "Royals," Robin Thicke Featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams' "Blurred Lines" and Bruno Mars' "Locked Out Of Heaven" were the most ubiquitous songs of the past year, both in terms of airplay and critical acclaim. That said, Mars, with four current nominations and a total of 14 prior GRAMMY nominations and one win (Best Pop Male Vocal Performance for "Just The Way You Are" in 2010), seems ripe for recognition — complete with the heat surrounding his upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance — though any of the other four wouldn't be a surprise.

Album Of The YearThis category includes a nominee from pop (Sara Bareilles), dance (Daft Punk), country (Taylor Swift), and two hip-hop artists (Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis). Album Of The Year has a diverse history (recent winners include Mumford & Sons, Adele, Arcade Fire, Swift, and Robert Plant & Alison Krauss), and the presence of two rap acts might split that vote. Could that open the door for Bareilles, or another coronation for Swift, whose Fearless garnered the nod in 2009? That's what I'm thinking.

Song Of The YearThe competition is strong in this category, which recognizes songwriters, with Record Of The Year nominees "Locked Out Of Heaven" and "Royals" represented, Pink Featuring Nate Ruess' "Just Give Me A Reason" and Katy Perry's tour de force "Roar." But here's guessing that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' "Same Love" captures the political zeitgeist this year, just as the Dixie Chicks ("Not Ready To Make Nice") and Bruce Springsteen ("Streets Of Philadelphia") have in years past.

Best New ArtistOnce again, a mixed genre bag, with UK dub-step artist James Blake, Compton, Calif., hip-hop hopeful Kendrick Lamar, country newcomer Kacey Musgraves and Brit folkie Ed Sheeran forming a strong batch of contenders. However, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' DIY success story and overturning of hip-hop orthodoxy in areas of bling and sexuality could just make the difference here.

Best Pop Solo PerformanceCould this be where Justin Timberlake gets his due for the smash "Mirrors"? Or will Bareilles' "Brave" get the nod? Also in the mix are Perry's "Roar," Mars' "When I Was Your Man" and Lorde's "Royals." With not-so-perfect 20/20 foresight, I'm going with JT here.

Best Pop Vocal AlbumA tough one to call, with pop starlet Lana Del Rey (Paradise) and the presence of General Field nominees Lorde (Pure Heroine), Mars (Unorthodox Jukebox) and Thicke (Blurred Lines) all accounted for, but I think this is where Timberlake (The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience) will reign.

Best Rock PerformanceDeserving veterans David Bowie ("The Stars [Are Out Tonight]"), Led Zeppelin ("Kashmir"), Jack White ("I'm Shakin"), and Queens Of The Stone Age ("My God Is The Sun") are all represented here, along with last year's Best New Artist nominees Alabama Shakes ("Always Alright"), but I don't think newcomers Imagine Dragons' Record Of The Year nominee "Radioactive" will be denied.

Best Rock SongPaul McCartney and Nirvana ("Cut Me Some Slack"), the Rolling Stones ("Doom And Gloom") and Black Sabbath ("God Is Dead?") are nominated, along with Muse ("Panic Station") and Gary Clark Jr. ("Ain't Messin 'Round), but I believe the presence of Dave Grohl with a living legend like Macca makes "… Slack" a "cut" above the rest.

Best Rap AlbumLamar (Good Kid, M.A.A.D City) and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (The Heist) face off against the reigning hip-hop triumvirate of Jay Z (Magna Carta … Holy Grail), Kanye West (Yeezus) and Drake (Nothing Was The Same). My call? Lamar edges out his Seattle rivals to snare the prize.

Best Country AlbumIf Swift (Red) doesn't claim Album Of The Year, this will be a worthy consolation over a strong field, including Musgraves (Same Trailer Different Park), Jason Aldean (Night Train), Tim McGraw (Two Lanes Of Freedom) and Blake Shelton (Based On A True Story).

You've read my predictions. Who do you think GRAMMY voters will choose?

Nominations for the 56th GRAMMY Awards were announced tonight by The Recording Academy and reflected one of the most diverse years with the Album Of The Year category alone representing the rap, pop, country and dance/electronica genres, as determined by the voting members of The Academy. Once again, nominations in select categories for the annual GRAMMY Awards were announced on primetime television as part of "The GRAMMY Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night," a one-hour CBS entertainment special broadcast live from Nokia Theatre L.A. Live.

"This year's nominations reflect the talented community of music makers who represent some of the highest levels of excellence and artistry of the year in their respective fields," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy. "Once again, The Academy's awards process and its voting membership have produced an impressive list of nominations across various genres promising music fans a spectacular show filled with stellar performances and unique 'GRAMMY Moments.' We are off to a great start and look forward to GRAMMY Sunday as Music's Biggest Night takes the stage."

For Best Dance/Electronica Album, the nominees are Random Access Memories by Daft Punk; Settle by Disclosure; 18 Months by Calvin Harris; Atmosphere by Kaskade; and A Color Map Of The Sun by Pretty Lights.

The Best Rock Performance nominees are "Always Alright" by Alabama Shakes; "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" by David Bowie; "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons; "Kashmir (Live)" by Led Zeppelin; "My God Is The Sun" by Queens Of The Stone Age; and "I'm Shakin'" by Jack White.

For Best Alternative Music Album, the nominees are The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You by Neko Case; Trouble Will Find Me by The National; Hesitation Marks by Nine Inch Nails; Lonerism by Tame Impala; Modern Vampires Of The City by Vampire Weekend.

For Best Rap Album, the nominees are Nothing Was The Same by Drake; Magna Carta…Holy Grail by Jay Z; Good Kid, M.A.A.D City by Kendrick Lamar; The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis; and Yeezus by Kanye West.

The Best Country Album nominees are Night Train by Jason Aldean; Two Lanes Of Freedom by Tim McGraw; Same Trailer Different Park by Kacey Musgraves; Based On A True Story by Blake Shelton; and Red by Taylor Swift.

The nominees for Best Americana Album are Old Yellow Moon by Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell; Love Has Come For You by Steve Martin & Edie Brickell; Buddy And Jim by Buddy Miller And Jim Lauderdale; One True Vine by Mavis Staples; and Songbook by Allen Toussaint.

This year's GRAMMY Awards process registered more than 22,000 submissions over a 12-month eligibility period (Oct. 1, 2012 – Sept. 30, 2013). GRAMMY ballots for the final round of voting will be mailed on Dec. 11 to the voting members of The Recording Academy. They are due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte by Jan. 8, 2014, when they will be tabulated and the results kept secret until the 56th GRAMMY telecast.

The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held Jan. 26, 2014, at Staples Center in Los Angeles and once again will be broadcast live in high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards are produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich is executive producer, and Louis J. Horvitz is director.

For updates and breaking news, visit The Recording Academy's social networks on Twitter and Facebook.

Exploring The Rap Field Nominees

You've seen the list of nominees, now take a closer look at the artists nominated in the Rock Field categories for the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Top 56th GRAMMY Awards nominee Jay Z leads the Rap Field with five nominations. First-time GRAMMY nominees Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis follow with four and three nominations in the Rap Field, respectively. Last year's Best Rap Album winner Drake returns with three nominations in the Field. Returning nominees looking for their first taste of GRAMMY gold are 2 Chainz, J. Cole and Wiz Khalifa.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have seven GRAMMY nominations this year, including Album Of The Year and Best New Artist, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of their careers. Wanz has two nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

J. Cole has one GRAMMY nomination this year and one prior GRAMMY nomination. Miguel has two GRAMMY nominations this year, including Best R&B Performance for "How Many Drinks" featuring Kendrick Lamar, six prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win.

Jay Z has nine nominations this year, 52 prior GRAMMY nominations and 17 prior GRAMMY wins. Timberlake has seven GRAMMY nominations this year, including Best Pop Vocal Album for The 20/20 Experience — The Complete Experience, 28 prior GRAMMY nominations, including those with 'N Sync, and six prior GRAMMY wins.

Kendrick Lamar Featuring Mary J. Blige, "Now Or Never"

Lamar has seven nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career. Blige has two GRAMMY nominations this year, 28 prior GRAMMY nominations and nine prior GRAMMY wins.

Wiz Khalifa Featuring The Weeknd, "Remember You"

Khalifa has one GRAMMY nomination this year, four prior GRAMMY nominations and is looking for the first GRAMMY win of his career. The Weeknd has one GRAMMY nomination this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of his career.

ASAP Rocky and Lamar have one and seven GRAMMY nominations this year, respectively, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of their careers. Graham (aka Drake) has five nominations this year, 13 prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win. Epps (aka 2 Chainz) has one GRAMMY nomination this year and three prior GRAMMY nominations. Shebib has two GRAMMY nominations this year, two prior nominations and one prior GRAMMY win.

Jay Z has nine nominations this year, 52 prior GRAMMY nominations and 17 prior GRAMMY wins. Timberlake has seven GRAMMY nominations this year, 28 prior GRAMMY nominations and six prior GRAMMY wins. Nash has one nomination this year, 10 prior GRAMMY nominations and four prior GRAMMY wins. Harmon has one GRAMMY nomination this year, marking the first nomination of his career. Mosley has two GRAMMY nominations this year, 16 prior GRAMMY nominations and two prior GRAMMY wins. Wilson has one GRAMMY nomination this year, three prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win. Cobain has one GRAMMY nomination this year, seven prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win as part of Nirvana. Grohl has two GRAMMY nominations this year, 33 prior GRAMMY nominations and 13 prior GRAMMY wins, including those with Foo Fighters, Queens Of The Stone Age, Nirvana, and Them Crooked Vultures. Novoselic has one GRAMMY nomination this year, six prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win as part of Nirvana.

West has two nominations this year, 52 prior GRAMMY nominations and 21 prior GRAMMY wins. Breux (Frank Ocean) has one nomination this year, six prior GRAMMY nominations and two prior GRAMMY wins. Dean has one nomination this year, seven prior GRAMMY nominations and five prior GRAMMY wins. Goldstein has one nomination this year and one prior GRAMMY win. Jones has one GRAMMY nomination this year, three prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win. Smith has one GRAMMY nomination this year, two prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win. Bronfman, Johnson, Joseph, Rutberg, Sandifer, Scott, Young, Adamis, and Presser have one nomination each this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of their respective careers.

Graham (Drake) has five nominations this year, 13 prior GRAMMY nominations and one prior GRAMMY win. Shebib has two nominations this year, two prior nominations and one prior GRAMMY win. Coleman and Sanfilippo have one nomination each this year, marking the first GRAMMY nomination of their respective careers.

Lamar has seven nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of his career.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, The Heist

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have seven GRAMMY nominations this year, marking the first GRAMMY nominations of their careers.

Kanye West, Yeezus

West has two GRAMMY nominations this year, 52 prior GRAMMY nominations and 21 prior GRAMMY wins.

Who will take home the awards in the Rap Field categories? Tune in to the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 26, 2014, taking place at Staples Center in Los Angeles and airing live on CBS from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

GRAMMY Insider: Nirvana, John Legend, Jon Bon Jovi, Eminem, Madonna

All the GRAMMY winners news, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's nominees for the class of 2014

GRAMMYs

Dec 2, 2014 - 4:06 pm

GRAMMY.com

(The GRAMMY Insider keeps you up to date about news on your favorite GRAMMY winners, including information about new album releases, tour updates, notable media appearances, interviews, and more.)

AwardsGRAMMY winners Peter Gabriel, LL Cool J, Nirvana, Linda Ronstadt, and Yes are among the nominated acts for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2014. The other nominees are the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Hall And Oates, Kiss, the Meters, N.W.A., the Replacements, Cat Stevens, Link Wray, and the Zombies. Think you know who should make the cut? Take part in the online fan vote.

High IQHe's no ordinary person. John Legend was recently cited as one of the top 30 smartest celebrities in Hollywood, according to Business Insider. Not only has the R&B crooner won nine GRAMMY Awards, but he once held a position at Boston Consulting Group, one of the most prestigious firms in the world.

NuptialsJon Bon Jovi answered a super fan's prayer on Oct. 12 when he gave away super fan Branka Delic, who married her fiancé Gonzalo Cladera, at Las Vegas' Graceland Wedding Chapel (the same place where the GRAMMY winner tied the knot with wife Dorothea in 1989). Delic was so determined to have Bon Jovi take part in her wedding, she successfully petitioned him to attend. "All her life, Branka thought she would marry Bon Jovi himself," her petition read. "Sadly, at the age of 34 she realized this would never happen, and she accepted Gonzo's proposal instead." We wish the happy couple all the best but we are only cautiously optimistic. After all, according to the petition, "[Branka] has two loves in her life … Gonzo and Bon Jovi … but not necessarily in that order."

New MusicEminem is keeping the anticipation high for his forthcoming new album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, due Nov. 5, by releasing a new single "Rap God," during which he rhymes about feeling like a rap deity and poses the thoughtful question, "Why be a king when you can be a god?" If Eminem is the Rap God and Kanye West is Yeezus, who is the Holy Ghost to complete the rap trinity? … Everyone's favorite mouse-headed DJ, Deadmau5, has announced he has big plans for 2014 that technology might not be ready for. "I've been going hardcore on production," he told Rolling Stone. "I've been waiting a year and a half for the technology to catch up to what I want to do. I'm still waiting."

At The MoviesMadonna has reportedly been banned from watching movies at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain after she was caught texting during a screening of 12 Years A Slave at the 51st New York Film Festival. When a fellow moviegoer asked her to stop, Madge allegedly replied, "It's for business … enslaver!" Alamo Drafthouse co-founder and CEO Tim League replied by tweeting, "Until she apologizes to movie fans, Madonna is banned from watching movies."

Tune In"The Simpsons" are breaking the law. Judas Priest's Rob Halford will be transformed into a yellow cartoon character in an episode titled "Steal This Episode" in January 2014, during which the metal icon will perform a parody of the Judas Priest classic "Breaking The Law" in an effort to encourage Homer to stop illegally downloading movies.

#theysaiditMiley Cyrus has garnered a lot of attention lately, fueled by her suggestive music videos and onstage twerking, but Paul McCartney doesn't get what all the fuss is about. "C'mon, we've seen worse than that," McCartney exclaimed in an interview with Skynews.com. … The Rolling Stones have apparently not given former Cream and Blind Faith drummer Ginger Baker much satisfaction. When asked by Rolling Stone what he thinks of the Stones, Baker replied, "You're joking right? … I won't go within 10 miles of a Rolling Stones gig."

Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of The Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for The Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by The Recording Academy.